Time Can't Outrun Itself
by Nerdizzle92
Summary: The Doctor has a past no one knows about, and now the horrors of it are catching up to him. With Rose by his side and ignorant of his past, he faces the challenge of fighting off his nightmares alone all the while trying to keep all of time and space in balance.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey guys! So, this is my first Doctor Who fanfic and the first fanfic on this account, and I'm kind of excited about it since I am completely obsessed with Doctor Who (Doctor, not Dr). I've been studying up on the history of Doctor Who and the Time Lords and everything the past few weeks, so I'm hoping I don't mess anything up.**

**Anyways, I really hope you guys enjoy it, and reviews would be FANTASTIC. I have to get better somehow, you know? So constructive criticism is greatly appreciated! Plus reviews are a great form of encouragement. And, much like bow ties, reviews are cool...so...enjoy. ;)**

...

"_Doctor!" a boy's voice cried from outside the TARDIS doors. Without hesitation, the Doctor bounded over and threw the doors open, wind ripping into the ship._

"_Help me!"_

_The Doctor looked around at the dark blue atmosphere surrounding the ship, the wind completely stilled. He studied the time vortex, searching for the owner of the voice. Just in reach of the TARDIS, a young boy floated in time, reaching out towards the Doctor. The boy's mouth was agape in a silent cry, fingers outstretched and body falling back away from the ship. His dark green eyes were wide and full of terror._

"_Jelpax…" The Doctor stared in disbelief, holding onto the side of the TARDS so he can extend his hand out towards Jelpax, their fingers barely brushing. The Doctor pushed himself against the edge of the TARDIS towards the young boy, barely able to latch onto the young one's hand._

"_Hold on!" The Doctor told the frightened child. But as soon as he grabbed onto the child's hand, the boy's face began to change, his dark hair lightening and growing, his body morphing entirely. Soon enough, at the end of his arm was no longer the little boy he was trying to save, but rather the familiar face of a blonde he knew so well. His most recent companion, someone he had traveled throughout the universe and time with, someone who has helped him through so much._

"_Rose!" he cried out. Her brown eyes were wide like the boy's, her lips parted and trembling._

"_Don't let me go…" she begged, though the Doctor could feel them being pulled apart, even as she clung onto him for dear life. He tightened his grip on her hand, but she was still slipping away as the vortex tugged Rose further away from the TARDIS._

"_I don't want to lose you," he admitted painfully. Her fingers slipped out of his and she opened her mouth to scream as she fell through time. The vortex ate away at her, darkness engulfing her until she was lost completely. The Doctor had failed to save her. As he watched her disappear, his legs became like rubber and he just caught himself before he fell, staring into the darkness, horrified._

'I couldn't save her… I…'

_Then from the darkness, emerged another face, one still very familiar, one he had not been hoping for. And the Doctor stood in the TARDIS, staring at a younger version of himself. The Doctor's chest clenched at the vacant look in his child replica's eyes._

_The younger image raised his hand towards the Doctor, his expression forever broken and emotionless. The Doctor didn't budge; he made no attempt to save himself._

"_Don't let me die!"_

_The Doctor refused to help, knowing it was all just a dream; a trap._

"_Doctor!" his kid self screamed angrily at him. "Don't let me die! Don't abandon me like you did them! You can save me!"_

"_There is no hope for you," the weary Time Lord whispered, dropping to his knees. And as he said this, his child self let out a horrendous scream and lunged for the TARDIS, knocking the Doctor onto his back as he became overwhelmed by the force. As he hit the floor, a multitude of voices began to fill his head and thousands of Time Lords past filled his vision, all screaming at him at once. He could still understand parts of what they were saying, and it sent chills shooting through his body._

"_How dare you," one cried, "Because of you, we are all dead."_

"_Traitor."_

_The Doctor looked around at all the surrounding faces, familiar faces that he tried so hard not to remember so he didn't have to bear the pain of losing them all. Then the first boy appeared in front of him, and though he said nothing, his eyes were colder than before. And next to him, Rose was pale and there was no sign of the warmth she always projected._

"_I know what you did," her voice was darker and more hollow; the Doctor almost didn't recognize her. "You are no better than those you fight against. You are pathetic."_

_The first little boy glowered at the Doctor, his eyes darkening and his appearance becoming disfigured._

"_We trusted you. And you killed us."_

_The voices started shouting at him all at once again, and it was almost too much for him to handle. His child self reappeared outside the TARDIS as the Doctor struggled to sit up. He reached out to his young self, but the child made no returning gesture. Instead, the kid turned away and moved further into the vortex, being consumed entirely by time and space._

_It was then that the Doctor lost his soul to the throes of time._

...

His eyes fluttered open to be greeted by the somewhat acquainted sight of his room in the home of Rose Tyler. It was mostly quiet throughout the flat, with the exception of the occasional shuffling and the sound of a frying pan hitting the counter in a nearby room. Rose was awake.

The Doctor pushed himself up from his elbows, swinging his legs over the side of the bed, feet hitting the cold floor. His shoulders slumped and he pinched the bridge of his nose while letting out a deep sigh. The voices still echoed in his mind, haunting him in the world beyond his dreams.

"_Pathetic."_

"_We trusted you."_

"_I know what you did."_

"_You killed us."_

A cold shiver ran down the Doctor's back and he couldn't help but remember that one fateful day, so many years ago. It still seemed so recent. Had all this time really passed since then?

His concentration was broken when someone knocked twice on his door.

"Doctor?" the sweet voice carried through the room as the door cracked open. The Doctor straightened as Rose's face appeared in the doorway, her cheeks pink and golden hair glowing. This was the Rose he knew; warm, kind, alive. He greated her with a large, enthusiastic smile.

"Good morning!" He stood up and walked over to her, opening the door the rest of the way to let her in. She smiled slightly up at him, but her eyes flashed with concern and she couldn't hold it for long. Then her smile was gone.

"Are you alright?" she asked cautiously, her hand still rested on the handle. "I heard some strange noises coming from your room last night. Almost as if…"

The Doctor waited for her to continue, watching her expression carefully. Her eyelids fluttered and she looked down at her hand on the doorknob, tightening her grip. She didn't say anything more.

"As if what, Rose?" he questioned when she didn't continue. She didn't look at him right away, looking past the door as if figuring out what she was going to say.

"Almost as if you were…crying." Her eyes locked onto his as she spoke, holding her soft, caring eyes with his own weary ones. He knew she was searching his face for an answer, something that could help her understand what was going on in the mind of the man she had no reason to trust even when she did with the utmost dedication. He set his hand on her arm and squeezed the muscle lightly, letting the smile overtake his face again, almost completely genuine.

"Rose Tyler, don't you worry about me. We've got a busy day ahead of us!" he exclaimed, quickly changing the subject. He released her and pulled her out into the hallway, waving his hand extravagantly in front of them as he did when he got excited. "Or should I say, 67,000 years in the future today. Let's get prepared!"

Rose's small smile reappeared as her eyes dropped to the floor momentarily, biting her lower lip. The Doctor pretended not to notice it. He didn't want to alarm her with the fact that he had been having night terrors almost every night the past week. She had much more important things to concentrate on.

The moment of doubt passed quickly, though, and he watched as she perked up when they walked out the door and made their way to the TARDIS. With just a quick "goodbye" to her mum and Mickey, they were aboard the TARDIS and ready to go. The Doctor watched as Rose held onto a horizontal bar for balance. Her face lit up with the usual gleam of eagerness for adventure. He chuckled to himself as they were thrust into the waves of time.

The nightmares would have to wait.

...

**Again, I hope you guys enjoyed it and I look forward to writing more for next week! :) I'm going to try to come out every Monday until the end of the story. Reviews are super encouraging, so please please PLEASE if you like (or even if you don't), let me know what you think.**

**Thanks so much!**

**~ Nerdi**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey guys, Monday came quicker than I expected! But, like I promised, here's the second chapter! I was inspired by this while I was at a friend's house, actually, who just so happens to be another fellow Fanfic writer. But **_**anyways**_**, thank you guys for the reviews! I'm glad you liked the last chapter, and I hope you like this next one!**

**Also, thank you Scififan2005 for pointing out that one mistake. It has since been fixed. :) And I've learned a valuable lesson. The Internet is full of lies!**

**Barefoot Beach Bum, thank you for your encouragement. :) I hope you like the plot I have in store!**

**Empty Steps, well…thank you in general for your review! :) You're a great friend. Whether or not you know Doctor Who, your opinion is always valued!**

**And please keep the reviews coming, I love hearing what you guys have to say about this! And I will respond to **_**everyone**_**, that is another promise.**

**…**

Qessar was unlike any planet Rose had been to before. The atmosphere was dim, making it hard to see, but small blue lights speckled the air. The ghostly lights resembled stars and were scattered around the Doctor and Rose, lighting the area around them enough for them to see their way.

"What are they?" Rose asked. She reached out to touch one, the floating ball of light falling to rest in her palm. She pulled the orb closer to her face to examine it better. The Doctor looked at her as it lit up her face and smiled, the light blue hue causing her eyes to shine as it cast shadows on her curious expression.

"Are they stars?" The ball lifted from her hand and started to float away among the others. The Doctor looked around, a slight grin still visible.

"Ah, well actually, no," he said, locking his arms behind his back as they walked along a stony path. "They bear a striking resemblance, yes, but if they were stars, your hand would be an incinerated mess right about now. You see, stars are an extremely hot substance, the coolest being about 24,999 degrees Celsius. Blue stars, the youngest stars, can range from between 25,000 to 50,000 degrees."

He glanced at her as she took in the information, smiling as she readily listened to him to learn more about the universe around them. Her eyes were locked onto him as he spoke, full of the same eagerness from before.

"These, on the other hand, are plasmic creatures who don't do much more than float around and glow. Magnificently beautiful creatures, I must say. Lumens."

Rose laughed slightly, her eyes scanning more of the area around them. There were giant, leafy plants that grew taller than both of them, glowing just the same as the plasmic orbs, different shades of pinks and purples and blues, making the air feel quite somber.

"Incredible," she gasped. The Doctor's smile widened and they came to a strange village that shattered the muted, peaceful mood with their yellow brightness. Above the village was a golden cage that emitted a similar golden light, resembling that of the Earth's sun.

Beneath the light, the planet's other inhabitants walked the paths in front of the two newcomers. They resembled humans from far away, but when one turned to look at Rose from only a few feet away, she saw just how different they looked.

Rose suddenly stopped walking beside the Doctor, who slowed his pace until he stopped as well. When he looked back at her, her mouth was parted slightly and she was mesmerized by the creatures.

"Oh dear," he said, taking a few long strides to stand next to her again. He waved his hand in front of her face. "Hello, Rose?"

She blinked and looked at him, a still mesmerized expression on her face.

"They're so beautiful."

The Doctor looked at the direction she had been staring, one of the creatures coming towards them. But instead of walking, she was floating just barely off the ground, her legs just a ghostly essence. Her long hair fell down to her stomach and a glowing circlet that seemed to be imbedded into her head emitted a similar glow to those plants and orbs outside of the village.

Simple but elegant designs wrapped around their wrists and some upper arms, glowing as well. As the strange woman came to a stop in front of the two, Rose could see that they also had no pupils, and their eyes were just plain white.

The woman smiled.

"It's not often that we have visitors on our planet here," she stated softly, her voice full of gentleness and kindness. "We are the Qessarians. Let me take you to our Counsel. They will ensure that your stay here is pleasant."

She turned around without another word and continued down another path, leaving the Doctor and Rose with no choice but to follow. As they walked, they past several stone buildings, all resembling houses, and many of the occupants of Qessar stopped to stare at the newcomers with many questions in their white eyes.

_We trusted you._

The Doctor almost stopped in his tracks, looking around for the source of the voice before he realized it was all just in his head. But as he took another step, faces filled his mind again as he remembered the screaming, his hands clenching to form fists. He tried to push the voices and the images out of his mind, focusing on Rose and getting where he needed to be. But he couldn't seem to regain himself.

_You killed us._

He slowed his pace and walked a little behind Rose, unable to see any of his surroundings, the faces blurring his vision. A scream filled his ears then, piercing through the rest of the noise inside his head, and the faces vanished. He was back in his own mind on Qessar. The scream sounded a lot like Rose.

But when he looked around for her, she was still walking in front of him, completely unaware of what had just happened. She seemed undisturbed as she took in the rest of her surroundings, but the Doctor felt something in the pit of his stomach, a sort of nervousness that made him feel as if someone was watching him. When he looked around, he knew most everyone they passed had their eyes glued to them, but he couldn't shake the feeling that something darker and more sinister was watching them, hidden somewhere the Doctor couldn't see.

'_Something is going on here…but what is it?'_

He was going to have to get to the bottom of this. He feared the worse.

Before he could think anymore on it, they reached a large, marble building with archways stretched high up in front of the trio. The outside walls shone as the Qessarian sun hit it, reflecting the light to the streets around them. There was no door, allowing anyone to walk in just out of their own freewill.

Rose and the Doctor both looked up at the ceiling as they walked into the building, murals of several different respectable-looking Qessarians, each more magnificent than the next. Their eyes bore down at the three, Rose examining the paintings deeply while the other two continued forward.

"Just through these doors, and I will introduce you to the Counsel. They will then deliberate on where to place you for your stay."

Their guide smiled warmly at the Doctor, leading him into the room where the Counsel resided. Rose followed in shortly behind the Doctor, not wanting to be left behind in case something important happened.

"Your highnesses, we have visitors from another planet," the guide informed the five other Qessarians that resided behind a tall desk in this particular room. They all looked the direction of the trio, one of them rising to his feet.

These particular five Qessarians had an additional design on their faces, glowing dots that ran across their forehead right above their eyes and came down in between the white sockets to form a circle around a star that resided right in between where their eyebrows would be.

"So, you're the Doctor," the Qessarian who had stood up said without the guide introducing them first. The Doctor took a step forward and nodded, crossing his arms.

"Yes, I'm the Doctor," he responded, making sure to stand in front of Rose in case anything was to happen. She walked up behind him and stood a little to the side but made sure not to pass him. "Mind telling me how you know who I am?"

"We've heard many stories from another visitor who has been residing with us," he responded, his white eyes narrowed ever so slightly. "And we've been waiting for you."

**…**

**I hope you enjoyed it! Please review with your honest opinion (good or bad), it helps encourage me so much. :)**

**Thanks again.**

**~Nerdi**


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